BAGHDAD, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Friday 5,882 new coronavirus cases, raising the total nationwide infections to 862,821.
The new cases included 2,085 in the capital Baghdad, 682 in Basra, 328 in Wasit, 308 in Najaf, and 304 in Duhok, the ministry said in a statement.
It also reported 30 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 14,390, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,119 to 768,215.
A total of 8,122,169 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 43,192 done during the day.
The ministry said 13,443 people were vaccinated during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses received to 84,662.
Iraq has taken a series of measures to curb the recent rise in infections after the health ministry announced on Feb. 15 the detection of a new strain characterized by faster transmission and a higher level of severity.
On March 2, Iraq received a shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government to help combat the pandemic.
The Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccines, in addition to AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sputnik V vaccines.